Hold on a second... Not like these things blow up left and right or anything. I can understand the horror of having a PSU blow up on you, but I think you're over reacting a little. The RMA rate on those 800W units is still only about 1%... and that includes units sold to your typical Best Buy customer (*cough* Not always the sharpest tool in the shed *cough*)

SOMEONE has to be that 1%. It just happened to be you and that sucks. It sucks even more that you bought it second hand w/o typical warranty. But what that should have meant was you contacting SKYMTL so he could get a hold of me so I could replace the unit for you. Email me at jgerow at bfgtech dot com and I'll hook you up.

Luckily, when it did explode, it was not connected to the motherboard or any other hardware. I managed to unplug it when it first started what I thought was arcing. I unplugged it from the motherboard and everything else.

Ok.... so it was NOT hooked up and probably did NOT take anything out with it since it "blew up" when you "jump started" it, right?

Well, there is the BFG rep's reponse. It should be noted that even though any units we sell do NOT have the warranty I am able to contact the manufacturer on your behalf and (probably) get the unit replaced. If not, since I have a TON of PSUs lying around if the manufacturer doesn't come through, I can replace it myself.

All is not lost in this type of situation.

One other thing should be mentioned....this is NOT the new ES-800, correct?

WOW!!! I never expected this much of a response! I certainly appreciate this guys. It is the BFGR800WPSU. My only real complaint had been the lack of more than 2 6-pin PCI-E connectors, but I did fully understand that when I got it. It also randomly made noise like it was under more strain than it was. My system does suck some power, but I figured it was OK with 800W's and the rather good review it got. I should also state that I did overreact somewhat when it did go. I guess I was as surprised as SKYMTL and JonnyGURU that it did go the way it did.

This is exactly how it went. I had the side panel off my case and my PC was under my desk. I didn't have a strong enough cooler on my QX9650 and was going to replace it, hence my side panel off. I had a few strange BSOD's. My PC was actually not OC'd for once since I just installed the QX and I was waiting to add better cooling first. My PC froze up for a few seconds. DUring this time, I heard some crackling type noises and got an ozone type smell. I immediately pulled the power cord out of the wall. I inspected the unit to see if there was a dust buildup or anything else strange going on. Then, with it disconnected from my PC, I jumped it. That was when it went off like a gunshot. In light of jonnyGURU's overly-generous offer to replace it, I am glad I remained calm and did not drive over it with my car like I had planned. I will contact you guys and whatever you can do for me is appreciated. I did realize when I got it from SKYMTL the circumstances it was purchased under. I will edit my title appropriately since I do realize that it is quite unfair to hate a company over a dead part.

Yea, but on the other hand the "Oh crap this guy is pissed and is going to spread this." factor also plays into this situation even if only a little bit that they or other companies would never publicly confirm.
Every company is affected by that one even just a tiny bit. (I am not entirely dissing BFG here though so please don't take it the wrong way. ..and even if I were it would apply to others as well.)

No, you're totally right. One unhappy customer is way more vocal than 100 happy customers.

The old adage "a happy customer tells one person, an unhappy customer tells 10" is totally true. It takes something like 100 happy customers to make up for one unhappy one. It's just a fact that if someone buys something and it does what it's supposed to do, odds are that the customer is just not going to say much about it. If someone buys something and it doesn't work properly, they're going to speak out about it.